The signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, July 2015) between the P5+1 and Iran has not stopped Iran’s religious, political and military establishment – and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei – from propagating Israel’s destruction, terming the “illegal and filthy Zionist regime” a cancerous tumor in the very heart of the Middle East. The JCPOA failed to recognize that Iran’s extensive missile program is a direct factor in the dramatic increase in the self-confidence of the Islamic Republic.

Iran’s long-range missile program lies at the center of the Iranian threat to eliminate Israel. On some of the long-range missiles that Iran tested, “Israel should be wiped off the map/face of the earth” is explicitly written (sometimes in Hebrew) – an overt declaration of Iran’s long-term objective. The Supreme Leader paves the way for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and sets the stage for local social networks and pan-Islamic “eliminate Israel” discourse.

The combination of an extreme Islamist ideology that repetitively preaches the destruction of Israel, boasts of its advanced missile program and seeks to return to the bosom of the Western world makes Iran all the more dangerous. This over-confident Iran continues to export terrorism to Palestinian terrorist organizations, Hezbollah and subversive groups in the Gulf States, some of which undermine American interests (Yemen, Bahrain, for example).

Ayatollah Khamenei at Tehran Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada

Iran’s Supreme Leader’s Khamenei addressed the Sixth International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada on February 21, 2017 in the presence of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Parliament Speaker, Ali Larijani and Judiciary Chief, Sadeq Amoli Larijani .

(Please notice: all English text is direct quote from Khamenei’s official English website. The text is identical to his sites in Arabic and Persian).

Selected excerpts:

Dirty page that will be closed

It has never been witnessed that a country is completely occupied in a supra-regional plot, that a people are driven away from their home and their country and that another group of people from remote areas in the world are brought there in order to replace that nation. It has never been witnessed that a real entity is ignored and that a fake entity takes its place.

But this is another dirty page in history which will be closed with the permission and assistance of Allah the Exalted, just like other dirty pages in history: “Falsehood is bound to perish” [The Holy Quran, 17:81] and He says: “My servants the righteous shall inherit the earth” [The Holy Quran, 21: 105]”.

Phased “cure for this tumor”: on going armed struggle

From the beginning, this cancerous tumor has been developing in several phases until it turned into the current disaster. The cure for this tumor should be developed in phases as well. Until today, several intifadas and a constant and continuous resistance have managed to achieve very important phased goals. The Palestinian intifada continues to gallop forward in a thunderous manner so that it can achieve its other goals until the complete liberation of Palestine…

No to any (political) “compromise strategies”

…from the beginning, the Islamic Republic of Iran insisted on the incorrectness of compromise strategies and warned of their harmful effects and heavy damages. The opportunity that was given to the compromise procedure brought about destructive effects on the path of resistance and the fighting of the Palestinian nation, but the only benefit that it had was to prove the inaccuracy of the so-called “realism” outlook in practice.

Necessity and a holy jihad …

The illegitimate entity of the Zionist regime will continue to exist only if it is founded on the ruins of Palestine’s identity and entity. That is why protecting Palestinian identity and guarding all the symbols of this truthful and natural identity is a necessity and a holy jihad.

Role of the Resistance

The role of the Resistance in post-occupation eras is no secret to anyone and without a doubt, the victory of the Resistance in the 1973 war cannot be ignored although it was a narrow victory. Since 1982, the burden of the Resistance fell practically on the people inside Palestine, but the Islamic Resistance of Lebanon – Hezbollah – turned to help the Palestinians in the path of their fight. If the Resistance had not brought the Zionist regime to its knees, we would now be witness to its transgressions against other regional countries – from Egypt to Jordan, from Iraq, the Persian Gulf region to other areas. The 33-day war in Lebanon (Second Lebanese War, JCPA), and the 22-day (Operation Cast Lead, JCPA), 8-day (Operation Pillar of Defense , JCPA) and 51-day (Operation Solid Rock, JCPA) wars in Gaza were all shining pages in the performance sheet of the Resistance. Those wars are a source of pride for all regional nations, for the world of Islam and for all freedom fighters in the world.

Emergence of signs of the collapse in the Zionist regime

With the emergence of signs of the collapse in the Zionist regime and the weakness that has dominated its main allies – in particular the United States of America – it is witnessed that the global environment is gradually moving towards confronting the hostile, illegal and inhuman activities of the Zionist regime.

This achievement is very important, but it is not the only achievement that the Resistance has made. The liberation of southern Lebanon and Gaza is the attainment of two important phased goals in the process of Palestine’s liberation. This has helped reverse the process of the geographical expansion of the Zionist regime.

The dangers originating from the presence of the Zionist regime should never be ignored! Therefore, the Resistance should benefit from all the necessary tools for continuing its duty. On this path, all regional nations and governments and all freedom seekers in the world should meet the main needs of this resistant nation.

In doing so, we should not ignore the basic needs of the Resistance in the West Bank because the West Bank shoulders the main burden of the suppressed intifada. Supporting the Resistance is the responsibility of all of us… The only condition for assistance is that such assistance is expended on strengthening the people of Palestine and the structure of the Resistance.

Strategies for “Eradicating” Israel

(July 1, 2016) The Iranian Supreme Leader’s senior military adviser (a former IRGC Commander), Brig-Gen Yahya Rahim Safavi, in a pre-Friday sermon indoctrination speech on July 1, 2016, on the occasion of International Quds (Jerusalem) Day.

Key points:

America and Britain were aiming to create insecurity and tension (in the Middle-East) and enforce their rule over Arab and Islamic countries, from the north of Africa to the west of Asia (the broader Middle East) when they created this cancerous tumor (Israel)…” (BBC MONITORING)

Look, 1.6 billion Muslims on the one hand, and 18 million Jews on the other hand. Assume that if each of these 1.6 billion Muslims pours a cup of water on the head of these Zionists, they will be drowned in this water.”

The unity of Muslims, support for the Islamic Resistance and the continuation of armed jihad [sacred war] is the main strategy for the liberation of Palestine….Strengthening jihadist groups, particularly arming the people of the West Bank, with its 3 million-strong population, is one of the duties of Muslims…. The arming of the West Bank will make the Zionists lose control (of the West Bank).” (BBC MONITORING)

The only way for the liberation of occupied Palestine and the elimination of this criminal, villain, inhuman, and anti-Muslim regime is the unity of Muslims, the strategy of the Islamic resistance and the continuation of armed jihad against this dirty and filthy regime.” (BBC MONITORING)

Regarding the future of the Zionist regime – according to both divine and rationale sources, there is no way other than the destruction of this fictitious regime, and the Islamic nations need to do what the Iranian people have done, and the Islamic Revolution is a model to other countries on how to break free of evil forces.

Iran’s Basij Force Commander Blames Israel for the Paris Tragedy

(November 18, 2015) The commander of Iran’s Basij (the voluntary arm of the IRGC) Force, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, blamed Israel for the terrorist attacks in Paris that killed over 150 people.

If we write the word Israel instead of ISIL, the behind the scenes of the recent events in France will come to light; ISIL is the infantry unit of the US and the usurper Zionist regime, since they do not have fighters anymore today and have lost the power to fight, and they have created ISIL by investing in fools….Such events need to happen in Europe in order for the US and its hirelings to be able to justify their presence in the region and escape criticism.

Wait for Iran’s Missiles

(October 26, 2015) Ground Force Commander Brigadier-General Ahmad Reza Purdastan warned the Zionist regime about any aggression against Tehran, and said the Armed Forces’ finger is on the trigger to destroy Israel with long-range missiles if Tel Aviv ever dares to put into action its boastful threats to Iran.

If Israel makes any move, we will react with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s long-range missiles.

Purdastan referred to the September remarks by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who said there will be no Israel 25 years from now, and said:

We are eager to see Israel make a move to put the Supreme Leader’s remarks into action as soon as possible.

In 25 years’ time, nothing under the name of Israel will remain.

On September 9, 2015, Ayatollah Khamenei described Israel as a “fake” regime, and said there would be no Israel 25 years from now.

Some of the Zionists have said that given the results of the nuclear negotiations (between Tehran and the world powers), they were relieved of concerns [they had] about Iran for 25 years, but we tell them that basically, you will not see the next 25 years, and with Allah’s grace, nothing under the name of the Zionist regime will exist in the region by then. (Crowd chants: Death to Israel, Death to America, and Death to the UK).

“Destroy Israel in Eight Minutes”

(May 20, 2016) Ahmad Karimpour, senior advisor to the Commander of the Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, said: “With the facilities and equipment we have, we can raze the Zionist regime to the ground in less than eight minutes if we ever decide to act, based on the Supreme Leader’s orders.”

Karimpour was referring to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s remarks back in 2013, when he said Iran would “raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground” if it were ever attacked by Israel.

Our Missiles are Ready to be Fired against Israel

We have huge reserves of various range ballistic missiles that are ready to target enemies and their intentions, at any time, from different points of the country….If enemies want to carry out negative acts against Iran, they should know that our missiles are ready to be fired and will target them.

He also said that Israel will soon collapse, adding:

Taking into account that Hezbollah has stored more than 100,000 missiles, the Islamic Republic possesses ten times more missiles of different types and its power is unlimited.”

“We Have Increased the Number of Missile Tunnels and Silos”

Today, Israel is surrounded by Islamic countries and it has a short life to live; it will be destroyed by war even before the firing of these missiles….Israel’s evil is totally clear to us and our missiles’ 2,000-kilometer range is for fighting against the Zionist regime at a distance….We do not aim to conquer other countries but rather to support oppressed nations [referring to Palestinians, Houthis in Yemen and other Arab minorities] against tyrants, and anyone who intends to harm oppressed Muslims should know that these missiles are a threat.

The commander also mentioned the enmity of the Iranian nation toward America, saying:

We are not instigators of war, but nor will we be surprised. Therefore, we have [taken action] so that the enemies cannot destroy them [the missiles] and we can continue the war for a long period of time….We have increased the number of missile tunnels and silos in Iran, and will provide a strong response to any enemy actions.

“Destruction of Israel and the Salvation of al-Quds”

(February 10, 2017) Ramadan Sharif, head of IRGC’s public relations and general publicity department, on Revolutionary Victory Day:

Martyrs protecting the holy places bring pride to the Islamic nation and stand firm against those who blackened the image of the Prophet…. It is a fact that Israel is responsible for any attacks against Muslims; step-by-step, we are nearing the destruction of Israel and the salvation of al-Quds (Jerusalem).

he Zionists and their Western backers are unaware of the secrets of martyrdom. They fantasize about blocking the path of jihad and Hezbollah’s victory through committing these crimes….Undoubtedly, this pure blood will create more blossoms in the camp of jihad against America and Zionism.”

Iranian leaders are consistent in their anti-Israel rhetoric, clear about their hostile intentions, and certain of their apocalyptic beliefs. Here are their top anti-Israel statements from 2013, with links to the original source in Persian.